After helping the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee unlock more data from Cid's computer, Riku had needed a breather. A quick detour before he headed back to the Land of Departure, nothing else. His heart led him to the same place it always had, and for the same reason. Next he knew, the warm sun and green forests that cradled Twilight Town greeted him on his descent.
For the first time, it hadn't been Namine who greeted him off of the gummi ship, but Hayner, Pence and Olette who were eager to put him to work.
So much for a breather.
The "work", turned out, involved throwing Namine a party for her new birthday, the day that her heart was returned to her. Of course, the day had been the anniversary of many things, but they'd wanted to focus on the positive like the good friends they were.
The others had already been busy getting all of the decorations, and the three before him were in charge of handling all of the food. With smiles all-too suspicious, they'd volunteered him to keep Namine company for the next few hours while everyone else set up, and he'd agreed to the task almost embarrassingly quickly. For one, he'd have done anything to avoid being in a small space with several people again. And two, he'd just…wanted to see her. She'd been his whole reason for visiting the quaint town in the first place.
Hayner had told him to have her back by six o'clock, but his tone had reflected that of a protective sibling as much as an eager party-planner.
He found her sipping tea alone outside of a cafe. Time always seemed to slow the moment her eyes found him, and this was no different.
"Riku!" She stood and faced him. Neither of them were fully comfortable initiating or participating in things like hugs, but he felt content just being in her company. "Xion told me they had a surprise for me today, but I wasn't expecting something this great," she smiled.
A lump formed in his throat, and something between a groan and a cough escaped. "Yeah," he gave her a subdued smile, which he knew paled in comparison to the one he was receiving, "guess I'll try not to disappoint."
"Never," she gestured down the street. "Join me for a walk?"
Yes, a walk. Anywhere that wasn't near the usual spot. Or a gift store. Or anywhere that sells food. Shouldn't be too hard.
As he scaled up his singular task in his head, he realized she was still standing a few paces ahead of him and waiting for an answer.
"Uh, yes," he said and hastily joined her side.
He'd never get tired of exploring Twilight Town. The real place was so much more lively than what Ansem the Wise had generated in his computer. Though his task of keeping her oblivious made it harder to just enjoy the colors of the town.
When the gang had said they'd be around town gathering supplies, they hadn't been kidding. Whether it was Axel and Isa with a giant banner that said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NAMINE", Roxas and Xion trying party hats on each other, or Hayner and Olette picking out cupcakes, there had been spoilers around almost every corner. He swore they could teleport too. With how many times he had to quickly herd Namine out of view, he was surprised she never caught on. One thing he knew: he had to get her out of the main portion town.
A brief train ride brought them to the appropriately named Sunset Terrace, and Riku immediately appreciated the lack of familiar faces.
"So," he said as he walked, "it's been a year since you moved here. How do you like it?"
"It feels like a home," she folded her hands in front of her chest. "Thanks to the people here, the happy memories here far outweigh the sad ones."
The sad memories, in which she was essentially held hostage for a second time, all while being belittled and dehumanized. Most of those memories he'd been a bystander for, and he wondered if being around him now caused her any pain by association. It was a miracle that she granted him any of her time at all. Perhaps returning to his rightful form again helped make their friendship possible, or perhaps she was just that kind.
Namine seemed to follow his thoughts. "You know," she said, "with my time in the mansion, some parts were painful, but some were happy too."
"Really?"
"Mhmm," she nodded, "Atleast I wasn't alone."
He chuckled, "I would've hardly considered myself company."
"You were struggling, but you were there." She giggled, "In a way, we were both these strange beings overwhelmed with guilt, yet still determined to set things right." She leaned and brushed a hand over his arm as she walked. "Thank you, Riku."
He searched himself for reasons that he could possibly deserve a 'thank you', but came up empty. Why was he making this day about himself, anyways? And why was he making her recall painful memories? She certainly didn't look unhappy, but he wanted her to remember the day - remember his company - fondly.
"Here, come with me." Out of nowhere, she grabbed his hand and began running up Sunset Hill, turning him into a stumbling mess after her.
He'd been to the top of the hill before, but now he could fully take in the view. The town itself seemed to end while the rest of the world stretched out in an endless green forest.
"What do you think of the view?" She asked.
"It's nice." He kept the strong words to describe it, and even stronger words to describe how she looked, to himself. "I haven't been here since-" he caught himself, hating that he seemed to fail at lighthearted conversation.
"Since you let me go," she smiled.
"You're giving me too much credit," he chuckled. "It was the least I could've done."
A commotion down the hill in the marketplace caught Riku's attention. From where he stood, he could see that it was Pence struggling to carry a giant cake. He rolled his eyes, grateful that Namine's back was turned to it. He played it cool and refrained from staring too long. It wasn't difficult to keep his attention on her anyways.
Despite his efforts, the conversation kept coming back to their memories in Twilight Town. Maybe leaning into the topic would be better than forcing small talk.
"It was a two-way street in the mansion, you know," he said. "You helped me too."
"I helped restore Sora's memories," she muttered, "but-"
"I don't mean that," he interrupted. "I thought I was…cursed. But when I saw you use your powers to restore Sora's memories, it made me want to do more than just conquer the Darkness. It - you - inspired me to walk the road to dawn, even if it took a while," He looked straight into her light blue eyes. "So, thank you, Namine."
She hung her mouth open, as if she wanted to respond, but settled on one of her humble smiles.
"And on a less complicated level," he added, "you've been there for me as a friend ever since," he hung on the last word and left the sentence unfinished, both unable to and knowing she wouldn't need him to.
Being separated from his best friends weighed on him heavily over the past year. Even though he knew he and Kairi were working together to save Sora, and he couldn't imagine what kind of loneliness she was going through, the events of a year ago had left him with no one to confide in.
Well, no one but the woman in front of him.
Her cheeks reddened, and her eyes reflected a deep empathy. If anyone knew how badly one needed friends, it was her. "It's the least I could do."
He'd thought his connection to Namine had only been through some combination of Kairi or his replica, but that delusion shattered the moment she'd placed her hand in his. In the tiny contact, there had been neither a familiar spark of an existing friendship, nor a drive to protect solely out of obligation.
No, there had been something more. He found himself coming to her for seemingly no reason, and she always made time for him amidst her new found family. Every strong face and misleading "I'm fine" from him had fallen apart under her gentle gaze. The more he thought of her, the more that the word "friend" failed to fully describe who she was to him.
A loud yelp echoed from where Pence was, and Riku didn't have to look to know his attempt to carry too much had failed. An earsplitting clatter followed, along with many more gasps.
Unfortunately, Namine hadn't resisted the temptation to look. As she began turning around, time slowed, and Riku panicked internally. He had one job - don't spoil the surprise for Namine - and her seeing Pence dropping a birthday cake was probably considered a mission failure. His mind ran through several excuses he could tell her, but none were convincing.
There was one thing he could do to keep her focused on him; something he might just be mad enough to do. Before he could talk himself out of it, he mustered up all of the courage he possessed and took her face within his hands. This new touch along with the surprised look she was giving him was enough to turn his stomach into nothing but nerves, but there was no going back.
Next he knew, his lips were on hers in the gentlest, most inexperienced of kisses. Her lips were just as soft and warm as her heart, and he wished he could stop time to cherish it a little longer. Her hands came up to brush over his own and settle on his arms.
Kissing her was less like fireworks and more like finally breaching a surface he never knew existed. Everything, from breathing to smiling to jumping to crying, felt waves easier.
When he pulled away, her eyes stayed closed a moment longer before fluttering open.
"Riku…"
The way she breathed his name so fondly made him want to lean back in for more, but he waited. Waited for her to move first. To say something else.
Only she didn't. She remained still, looking up at him with both surprise and tenderness.
Guilt quickly pulled him back under the surface. He meant every second of kissing her, but how could he fumble something so earnest on a distraction? Had it only been a distraction, or was the distraction just an excuse to kiss her? Whatever it was, it had worked on both of them, because the commotion down the hill was the furthest thing from their minds now.
"I'm sorry," his hands fell from her face, to her shoulders, to her arms. Even her hands felt far more than he deserved to touch. "That was…selfish of me."
Her hands caught his wrist as he tried to back away. When he dared to meet her eyes again, her expression hadn't changed. She shook her head. "You deserve to be a little selfish sometimes."
As she stepped closer, the distant clock tower chimed to signal half-an-hour until six. Walking back now would barely make them punctual, but hopefully Pence's accident had afforded them a little more time.
It was then that Riku decided making her a little late to her own surprise party was worth taking the time to kiss her properly.
A/N: Thank you for reading! If I recall correctly, the Kingdom Hearts character files revealed that Namine goes to live with the Twilight Town gang after the events of KH3, which I thought was super sweet and everything she deserves. The sea-salt family just keeps growing, and I loved the idea of Namine joining their little found family. It was also really fun to think of all the things Riku admires about Namine, and in what circumstance he'd kiss her as a distraction.
This was my first RikuNami fic, so I hope you all enjoyed it:)